Tea With Ree

Hi, guys! Hope all is well. I thought I would share something fun with you today.  As many of you know, I love tea.  I collect teapots and teacups and enjoy the ritual of sitting down for tea.  This Christmas my friend Irvina surprised me with this teapot.

For those of you who do not know, the picture is of me and the Pioneer Woman (Ree Drummond).  I was lucky to meet her this year and got my picture taken with her.  Irvina took this picture and turned it into a teapot.  It was such a fun surprise.  I can rightly say it is a one-of-a-kind!

My friend Elizabeth was kind enough to send me a handmade dish cloth she made as well and enclosed a teabag from Harrods of London. I decided to use this lovely cloth as a trivet for my teapot as I didn't want to get it wet.  Yes, I know, it was made for it, but I just love it too much.  Handmade gifts are always so special to me.

Off to have my tea now, and hope you have a great day!

Prime Rib, Anyone?

Hi, guys!  Hope your Christmas was a merry one!  I thought I would share a tidbit of our Christmas dinner.  For the past 3 Christmases I have been roasting a prime rib for dinner.  It is one of our most special meals of the year, and it really warrants the splurge if you ask me.  I wanted to share a great resource I found 3 years ago with you.  This site has amazing step by step directions for making a perfect prime rib dinner.  What I like about it is it keeps the meat simple and doesn't go to crazy on all the seasonings. The other thing I like is the timing and temperature chart, as not everyone likes their roast to be the same degree of doneness.  Ours must be rosy in the center, and have some great crust.  I know others who need it very rare, and some who want it cooked well (yes, I hear you groaning from here!).  I have no affilliation with this site, but wanted you to have the info should you decide you want to make one for a holiday (or special occasion) and want it to turn out perfectly.  The meat is not cheap, so why chance it?

The past two years I have been serving The Pioneer Woman's Whiskey Cream sauce with the roast.  Yummy does not begin to cover my description of this simple pan sauce.  I used Makers Mark Bourbon Whiskey in my sauce as it is what I have on hand.  If my hips would allow it, I would have this sauce on a lot of things, but, alas, I am not a rancher but sit on my bottom as a receptionist.  I must limit my consumption of this to holidays and special occasions.

This week I have a busy work week ahead, and am hoping to get into my stamp room to share some new projects I am working on with you.  My husband has also finished my stamp room, and I plan to share some pictures with you. 

Have a great day!  Until next time!

BlogHer'12 - My Thoughts and Experiences

Hi! I had lots of blogging fun and instruction at BlogHer'12.  I just arrived home today after being there from Thursday-Saturday.  I thought I would share some of my thoughts, impressions and fun pictures from the conference with you today.

I attended Pathfinder Day on Thursday.  I enjoyed it immensely.  Great instructors, and smaller class size and really focused.  I am glad I was there early to get the lay of the land before the crowds showed up on Friday.

There was plenty of excitement and celebrity to spare. President Obama spoke via live feed, Martha Stewart and Katie Couric were speakers at luncheons, and Soledad O'Brien, Christy Turlington Burns, and Malaak Compton-Rock spoke on a panel.  I was impressed, inspired and touched.  I realized after hearing the ladies speak that I need to use my skills and talents in some way to help others more than I do.  I do "some" things, but nowhere near enough.

The parties were nice, but I am not one for crowds, and 5000+ people together was overwhelming at times. This was my first BlogHer, so I am thinking that the next time I go I will be better prepared for the masses of women.    The Voices of the Year and Open Mic Night were great.  The readings of blog posts were amazing.  I laughed and cried and realized that bloggers' voices can rise above it all and deserve to be heard.

As for me, I had a few fun moments in the Expo Hall. One of  my favorite bloggers, Ree Drummond aka The Pioneer Woman was there and I was able to watch her presentation and get my picture taken with her.  She is just so warm and personable.  I think meeting her again was definitely a highlight for me.

Another fun moment for me was meeting the "Sun" from the Jimmy Dean sausage commercials.  He was so nice to take a picture with me.

The sessions of the conference were chock full of information and I am so glad that I got this great opportunity.  It is my hope that I will be able to use the information to help my blogging, help me grow my blog and to make friends and contacts with the fine women I was honored to meet.

Hope you have a great day!